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Temporary Employment Bounces Back in Middle Tennessee – and Across the Nation

It’s a good news, bad news scenario.

The bad news, we already know. According to a recent usatoday.com story, just under half of the 8.8 million U.S. jobs lost during the recession have been recovered during the last three years.  Construction and manufacturing were devastated, while healthcare and education were relatively unaffected.  Government employment continues to decline, while retail is on an upswing.

The good news? The staffing industry has fared somewhat better than our economy as a whole. Although the temporary staffing industry was decimated by the recession, losing nearly one-third of its participants, we’ve bounced back. Since our industry’s low point, it has recovered about 87 percent of its employees and continues on an upward trend.

While companies continue to struggle to hire the way they did pre-recession, the staffing industry has almost completely regained its workers – and continues to add them steadily.  Though the thought of temporary job growth may sound depressing (What good is a comeback that’s only going to last a few months?) on the surface, a boost in temporary help is actually a positive thing.

So here’s some more good news. As I’ve said before, temporary employment is a coincident employment indicator as our country emerges from a recession.  Stated simply, a sustained upswing in temporary staffing is a promising sign for our economy.  Why?  Many companies use temporary staffing as a means to quickly adjust their operations to meet fluctuating demands for their products and services.  This often presages an uptick in direct hiring.

Even once the economy gathers more momentum, the staffing industry should continue to remain robust.  Temporary workers are now a permanent part of the workforce and will continue to be an important cost-controlling component in strategic workforce management.

For more information on how temporary workers are impacting the recovery, read the full U.S. News article.  And if, like many others in Middle Tennessee, your company is beginning to grow once again, Wood Personnel is ready to help.  With staffing offices in Nashville, Cool Springs and Murfreesboro, TN, we have the reach, network and resources to quickly deliver the talented workers your business needs.

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